There were two main types of feature-length comedies made during the silent era. There were the slapstick ones, which sputtered initially in the late ‘teens until Chaplin figured out how to make this work, and the ones that didn’t star… Read More »Douglas MacLean – Picking Up Where Douglas Fairbanks Left Off
FaceBook reminded me this morning that I sent out a press release for Accidentally Preserved: Volume 1 six years ago. A quick hop onto Google shows that the sixth anniversary is the iron or candy one. Both seem appropriate. My… Read More »Iron Or Candy
There is a warning that appears at the beginning of many Scott Joplin piano rags. I remember seeing this in high school when I was learning a lot of the pieces. It is a note from the composer himself, admonishing… Read More »When A Loveseat Is Not a Sofa
Recording a New Piano Soundtrack for The Bride’s Play starring Marion Davies, Aided by a Live Show Experience The hardest part of creating a silent film score for DVD/Blu-ray release is that you’re composing-improvising-performing the score in a vacuum. You’re… Read More »Scoring a Silent Film in a Vacuum
I’ve seen Mabel Normand referred to as being a female Chaplin, in articles from the silent era and in contemporary references. I was intrigued to find similar analogies drawn between Mr. Chaplin and Alice Howell during the silent film era,… Read More »Not One, But TWO “Female Chaplins”
Usually, the baking mis-hap in a silent comedy film involves glue or cement or an explosive or carpet tacks etc. You know, the one where the person baking is distracted and an ingredient from a shelf above falls into the… Read More »Alice Howell – Comedy Creator
One of the things that struck me about the “Slapstick Divas” program of silent comedies that I’ve presented with Steve Massa over past year or so was the type of roles the funny ladies in them had. It reminded me… Read More »Alice Howell – Front and Center
I’ve been complimented on my work by fans, show attendees, people who’ve supported my Kickstarter’s and/or bought my DVDs. It’s gratifying, although my reason for doing what I do has nothing to do with the “has the ‘Thank-you-masked-man Man been… Read More »Is a Spinning Flat Plastic Disc Preservation?
What “Window-Boxing” Is, and Why I Do This For All My DVDs When I produced my first DVD release, Accidentally Preserved: Volume 1 in 2012, I was concerned about fans being able to see the whole image. I was, after… Read More »The Ninety-Seven-Percent Solution
Several years ago a typical conversation I had at holiday parties when introduced to someone got an upgrade. Up to that point, when introduced to someone, a question they’d ask — “Have you scored anything for DVD?” — became “Do… Read More »Wake Me When It’s Streaming